Cohasset fashion designer launches fall line

Cohasset-based fashion designer Robert Merton, owner and founder of Alistair Archer, is right on time with his new line of trench coats, umbrellas, and customized Wellington rain boots.

Staff Reporter

Summer may be just around the corner, but in the fashion world, spring is the time to showcase fall designs.

Cohasset-based fashion designer Robert Merton, owner and founder of Alistair Archer, is right on time with his new line of trench coats, umbrellas, and customized Wellington rain boots.

And while the collection is technically for fall, the designs are meant to be worn for at least three seasons.

“One of the things I’m trying to do with the line is provide products that can be worn in different seasons and times of day,” said Merton. “You can mix and match prints and colors and create your desired level of coordination. The colors are all made to coordinate.”

Like Merton’s trademark designs, the new trenches and boots come in various abstract prints, inspired by his own paintings. It was experimenting with acrylic painting on canvas that gave Merton his start as an artist, trading in a high-profile financial job in Manhattan for the work-from-home creative business life.

Alistair Archer launched in 2011 after Merton spent a few years as a gallery painter, traveling to show rooms both nationally and internationally. Eventually he was inspired to take his paintings from canvas to textiles, using digital printing technology to make it possible.

The fashion line is named after Merton’s two sons – Alistair, 3, and Archer, 9, – with his wife, Heather. Their oldest son is ultimately the reason the brand was founded; after he was born prematurely in 2004, Merton decided to leave the world of high finance behind, relocate his family to Cohasset, and focus on his artwork.

The company has started to take off over the past few years, with Merton showcasing his designs at local fashion events like Style Week in Providence and Arts Week in Boston. Merton said he’s excited for the direction the line is heading in.

“Alistair Archer is really beginning to roll out a central core line,” from dresses, tunics and scarves to the new trenches, boots, and other accessories. While Merton enjoys sending his looks down the runway, he also likes to share how the brand has evolved from paintings to a ready-to-wear clothing line.

Coming up in June at Boston’s Langham Hotel is a 24-look runway show and popup shop for the brand. In September, the line will show at the Liberty Hotel in Boston. Before that, Alistair Archer will be back at Style Week Providence in August.

“There are a lot of things coming along,” said Merton, adding that he’s “been very busy.”

Next, Merton plans to take his designs on the road, attending trade shows across the country. “It’s a very big step to go from a small, local and regional business and begin the process of rolling out an entire line on a national level,” he said.

The new range of coats and boots is one of Merton’s newest developments. With four different lengths to choose from, from jackets to dusters and a 12-button military style coat, creating customized looks is a breeze. The trenches are also available in different fabrics, including 100 percent polyester-twill that is both wind-resistant and weather-proof, and waterproof nylon raincoats. All of the coats are fully lined with contrasting prints on the inside.

Like Merton’s other designs, the print patterns come straight from his paintings. While mixing prints is on-trend, Merton insists that the wearer doesn’t need to go overboard with a head-to-toe “matchy-matchy” ensemble.

“It doesn’t have to be overwhelming,” he said, adding that while his prints are contrasting, the colors are complimentary and “don’t clash” when mixed together. An orange abstract jacket will match a pair of blue boots, because both prints share a shot of bright pink, for example.

While most prints are abstract, Merton also has fun experimenting with plaids, lending a preppy vibe that’s quite New England friendly, grounding the more whimsical patterns.

Merton likes patterns that play well off of each other and harmonize together, yet aren’t “exactly the same.”

Layering a long trench coat over a cashmere tunic, Merton demonstrated, “I feel like they fit together.”

Some styles are available for purchase now; the rest will be available to purchase online in six weeks. For more on Alistair Archer, and to view the Fall 2014 ready-to-wear collection, visit www.alistairarcher.com.